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35d 2011??

6K views 51 replies 16 participants last post by  aledec 
#1 ·
My apologies if this is the millionth time someone has asked the general question. I was going blind scanning through the posts.

Looking at a 2011 35d 85k miles. Private party. I asked the service records and emissions issues questions that seem to be primary concerns. I’ve seen everything from “best ever” to “run don’t walk”. In all honesty I saw the same for my current used 2011 335i coupe. And after some gasket issues covered by a (3rd party company) within the first year of ownership, all has settled and has been fantastic for the last 2 years. So I saw the same stay away from n55 motor comments.

I know it’s all “ymmv”. But is there a consensus? Or at least a majority feeling.

I figure if you want to learn how to throw a fastball... ask the players


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#47 · (Edited)
In my own personal opinion, if you have to ask, then you shouldn't, unless you have money, time, & experience to make it so... Or are simply looking for a spare "fun" project car, where you have something else to drive WHEN you need it...

An out of warranty BMW is always a gamble; however, it can be a VERY good & worthwhile gamble if you're competent & prepared to do all the neglected maintenance yourself... Or have the money & relationships to pay someone else to do it all for you.

To expect a $60K - 75K Luxury European SUV that has depreciated to around $10K or so in a very short time period, to somehow magically be as trouble free & cheap to maintain to peak performance as a 1990's era Honda or Toyota, by your local dip$hit wrench turner, is a naive joke on yourself, where you wholly deserve the swift kick to the nuts it will likely cause you...

An out of warranty, high mileage BMW can be an absolutely reliable vehicle that takes hard driving abuse like no other; however, it will very likely require that you make it so...

Some get lucky, a lot of folks do not, or they're so inapt at judging a car's performance that they think that their rough & poorly function car that shifts like crap & struggles to drive straight on the highway is working absolutely great... As a general rule: The overwhelming majority of folks getting rid of their higher mileage out of warranty vehicle, are doing so for a very good reason, that may, or may not, be cheap to get back up to par...

All of the info for common problems with this model & engine is easily found online from a variety of sources. It really is up to you to judge how risk averse you are; where finances, technical competency, & free time, & tool set, should be a primary factor for gauging the amount of risk you're willing to take on.

A high mileage used BMW will no doubt have some issues. Maybe small & easy to fix for cheap, or maybe well beyond your abilities & financial means... If you have to ask, I'd advise against... At the minimum, get a PPI from a competent dealership, which can often be harder to find than a well taken care of E70 35d...

I've test driven and have inspected a lot of E70 35d's before buying the ones that I did, spent well over $1K in PPI's for cars located out of state... All of them where listed in "perfect condition" and "well maintained", even by dealerships, except NONE of them actually were... They all needed a few thousand in repairs to get them up to par for the next $75K miles, where all of them had potentially very expensive hidden issues that were only exposed via BMW specific codes that only a BMW specific scanner / software will read...
 
#48 ·
To expect a $60K - 75K Luxury European SUV that has depreciated to around $10K or so in a very short time period, to somehow magically be as trouble free & cheap to maintain to peak performance as a 1990's era Honda or Toyota, by your local dip$hit wrench turner, is a naive joke on yourself, where you wholly deserve the swift kick to the nuts it will likely cause you...

You just described most of the owners who pick up a X5 for 10-125 k and then come here on this forums, crying or cursing.

:D:D:D
 
#49 ·
To expect a $60K - 75K Luxury European SUV that has depreciated to around $10K or so in a very short time period, to somehow magically be as trouble free & cheap to maintain to peak performance as a 1990's era Honda or Toyota, by your local dip$hit wrench turner, is a naive joke on yourself, where you wholly deserve the swift kick to the nuts it will likely cause you...

You just described most of the owners who pick up a X5 for 10-12 k and then come here on this forums, crying or cursing.

:D:D:D
 
#50 · (Edited)
No doubt... I've had at least 10+ folks inquire about my E70 35d at gas stations or in grocery store parking lots, saying they've been looking at buying one due to how cheap they are (usually for their daughter going off to college, because pretentiousness & vanity in wanting to appear "richer" than the family actually is)... I tell them the cold hard truth of the gamble they'll be taking, where they're always appreciative for having their naivety lifted (most times)... I always end with, "It's by far the best daily driver car I've owned, but it's cost me a lot of time and money to get it that way. These cars sold for $60K - $75K+ and are now selling for around $10K; an AWD Toyota RAV4 or an AWD Honda CRV from the same year, that had an MSRP that was nearly 1/3rd of a well equipped X5, sell for similar prices now, for a VERY good reason... I definitely understand the allure of a BMW from the vanity & cool factor standpoint; however, you don't look cool & no one is envious of you when your POS BMW is broken down on the side of the road w/ several thousand dollars of repairs needed to get it running again..."

No doubt that these are incredibly easy cars to work on, but you have to actually work on them, & actually know how to work on them (or at least have the mental faculties to quickly get up the speed), BEFORE things fail catastrophically if you expect daily driver reliability w/ the performance that SHOULD be expected. Long term durability for some components will always be a concern & risk, where if you don't already have a good relationship with a reasonable price COMPETENT independent mechanic who knows these cars, you'd better have basic technical competency (rare), above average cognitive ability to properly diagnose issues (exceedingly rare), a backup car, & the financial means to take on this inherent risk...
 
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